Instant Messaging
by Dixie Dewdrop
Summary: Jethro Gibbs considers the changes Tony and Abby have made to his life's direction. This is part of my Here and Now series.


Instant Messaging

Leroy Jethro Gibbs shoved a calloused hand into his pocket and pulled out a decorative box of Sweetheart candy. He had discovered it propped against his coffee pot that morning with a sticky note explaining it was from Abby and Tony.

The P.S. to their gift added that the tattooed confection probably should get credit as one of the original forms of IMs.

Gibbs smirked. It would surprise them that Jethro knew exactly how instant messaging applied to these particular candies.

In fact, he rather liked the taste and looked forward to their appearance in stores as Valentine's Day neared.

Jethro pried open one corner of the box and dug out one of the candies. Holding it at arm's distance he grinned at the engraved _you rock_ message before popping it into his mouth.

He acknowledged to himself that the candy was still as delicious as he recalled.

Tony and Abby knew his tastes better than he had thought.

In all the time that Jethro Gibbs, Tony Dinozzo, and Abby Scuito had functioned as a pseudo-family, the patriarch rarely found himself struggling to exist as he once had.

But the moments, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years following the murder of his wife and daughter had devastated him so utterly that even the act of breathing exhausted him.

At that desolate time he didn't want to make it better. Absolutely not! He wanted to fall upon his own sword rather than contemplate a future without Shannon and Kelly.

What propelled him into existence, into continuing to breathe was raw revenge, and to enact it meant that he transition from the Marine Corps into NIS- to Naval Investigative Service. Through the process of tracking and attacking his family's killer some of his rage exploded, but his rage also imploded, and the aftermath left him emotionally devastated.

He survived by working a grueling schedule, taking any physical activity and pushing himself into physical exhaustion every night.

That work ethic numbed his devastating loss; albeit to an ever present, choking throb.

Something shifted over time, though, despite his initial motivation. NIS and his boss, Mike Franks, repositioned his focus into a different path; thus, all these years later he headed his own team with NCIS, aka NIS. From merely going through the motions of living his life he had transitioned to leading a team of agents at NCIS headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Through that leadership position, Abby and Tony had insinuated themselves into their boss's home, and whether Jethro admitted it to himself or not, his heart.

Gibbs stood in his upstairs hall, his bedroom behind him. Abby's room and Tony's room on either side of the corridor flanked him. Somehow in the past years the two had segued from dropping by after work to coming by a couple of nights a week for supper. Later their visits increased to spending an occasional night, and finally to the present circumstance of living under Jethro's roof.

Jethro blindly pulled out another candy and smirked at the _too cool_ sentiment it boasted. How true!

Gibbs walked to Abby's room and stood at the doorway to survey the area. Meticulous about order and taking care of possessions in her lab, Abby proved to have an alter ego at home. Left to her own devices she would enter the room like a whirling dervish and belongings would be slung on one piece of furniture or the other.

He nodded.

He had told her to straighten up and she had followed his instructions.

Gibbs crossed the hall to Tony's room.

Surprisingly, Tony tended to keep his room presentable the majority of the time. Interestingly, Tony had cleared his room of all extraneous furniture. The Spartan furnishings seemed to soothe him, yet Gibbs found it ironic that the Tony so enamored with anyone else's luxurious lifestyle chose to incorporate only the basic necessities in his room.

Gibbs proceeded downstairs and set up a pot of coffee. As he waited for the splat of steam that signaled the perking had begun he paced restlessly within the kitchen area.

Stopping to adjust a cabinet door he fiddled with the latch until he satisfied himself that the door hung correctly.

He leaned against the battered formica counter and regarded the refrigerator door. The appliance's focal point was the calendar they shared which listed upcoming events and appointments, but adding to the décor were a few odds and ends of their lives pinned to the frame with magnets. Abby had attached pictures of a variety of animals by using a set of magnets shaped as skeletons, ghosts, and cemeteries. Tony's contribution to the refrigerator magnets included scenes from classic movies, and he secured those with magnets featuring sports equipment. Jethro, on the other hand, secured his two pieces of paper with two round magnet disks he had found at a hardware store.

Gibbs smiled. The visual reminder proved quite telling- the communal refrigerator reflected personality traits of their familial trio.

As he waited for the brew cycle to sputter to its finish Jethro returned to his earlier musing. Yes, a very few years in the past he had viewed life as a burden and every breath he consciously took a herculean task within that burden. Working for Mike Franks gradually restored some sense of purpose, but not until NCIS and his relationship with Tony and Abby did he feel necessary, or needed, by someone or someones.

Despite his taciturn nature and reticent social skills Abby managed to finangle her way into his heart, her sheer innocence forcing him to respond as a protector, a boss, a parent. Completely oblivious to any covert or overt signals he emanated to discourage bonding, Abby established her place in his life.

Two weeks after their acquaintance began he took the brief elevator trip to her lab to check results on a missing Marine case. Listening as the forensic scientist led him through her findings he marveled at the logical sequencing of her thoughts.

Shrewd, talented, and extremely intelligent, Abby's value at NCIS was legendary, and she had earned his respect as well as the respect of her colleagues.

She was a secret weapon- an absolutely and undeniably incredible asset to the Agency.

Jethro had begun to exit her space when he spotted a money jar with change half emptied onto her desk. "Are you taking tips now?" he deadpanned.

Abby giggled. "Not yet. No, I'm just counting out my change to see if it will cover vending machine crackers for lunch today."

He raised one eyebrow.

She shifted from one foot to the other.

"It's because, uhm, because I seem to be short today," she stammered.

Gibbs crossed his arms over his chest but maintained his silence.

To fill the awkward quiet she scowled and added, "I mean usually my lunch is not a problem but today is just a whole different day." When he still remained unresponsive she clarified, "You are waiting for me to tell you why, right?"

He didn't contradict her.

Abby sighed dramatically. "Why do you keep on pressuring me? It makes me nervous. Ok, the truth is I do know how to manage my money but today I gave all of the money I brought with me to work to a homeless guy who approached me by the NCIS gates- so there-that's why."

Jethro tilted his head.

She licked her lips. "He had a dog with him- a mutt- said his name was Mustard." With that admission she frowned slightly and nervously tugged at one pigtail. "I couldn't let Mustard and the guy go hungry."

The honest expression so touched him that it over-ruled Jethro initial response, a lecture on taking care of oneself before extending aid to others. Instead he licked his lips ordered, "Get upstairs by noon because I'm taking you to lunch."

Not allowing her to respond, he pivoted and left her lab.

Gibbs stretched from side to side before helping himself to another Sweetheart confection. He squinted and read _# one human_ off of the candy's face.

How apropos!

Thus the taking Abby to lunch occurrence ushered a breakdown in the once solid resolve Gibbs practiced to avoid relating to others post-Shannon and Kelly. That work encounter established the close and tight bond between Gibbs and Abby, and once activated, the protective streak he displayed towards her never wavered.

Her adulation towards him increased.

Nevertheless, he remained the boss on the job and at home.

Gibbs thought back to one of the first times Abby had stayed with him. She had joined Tony for a movie and had promised to return by eleven. By the time she reappeared it was three in the morning and he was beside himself with worry. Dismissing all excuses of leaving her cell in the car and Abby's cinematic selection turning out to be a movie marathon he reacted by issuing her an unforgettable timeout.

Not lifting the ban had been difficult the first time. He stayed firm, though, and as with Tony it became much easier to enforce consequences as time progressed.

The coffee pot emitted its final gurgling, strangled water sounds and Gibbs snapped back to reality. He poured himself a cup and carefully dumped the used grounds into the trash, noting with satisfaction that Tony had emptied the trash that morning and put in a new trash bag.

He expected certain behaviors from both Tony and Abby.

Gibbs lost himself to reverie again as he pondered Tony's transformation over the years. As with Abby, opening himself up to caring about another human- Tony- had occurred even despite doing everything he could to prevent it.

Within the first day of their introduction he had ascertained that underneath the immature kinda-engaged playboy persona lurked a sharp, intelligent, analytical young man with a catch. A smart mouth and devil-may-care attitude fronted Tony's deep insecurities and desperation to belong.

Gibbs hired him less than a week later and had never regretted the decision. He recognized the young man's potential and considered him a diamond in the rough. Almost immediately the two men had fallen in sync with each other on the job, together presenting quite a formidable investigative team.

They played off of each other's strengths and talents.

They shared mutual professional respect.

Tony quickly earned Jethro's trust on the job, not an easy feat in a career in which a partner's lack of backup or lapse of attention could end in fatal consequences.

Still, in those first months Jethro deliberately kept their interaction confined to their Agency work in an effort to maintain emotional distance. As with Abby, though, that declaration soon crumbled.

For Tony it transpired over a series of apartment fiascos featuring the plumbing, the heat, and finally, the electricity. Each crisis sent him to seek shelter at Jethro's, which Tony and Abby had privately nicknamed the House of Gibbs.

Grudgingly allowing the younger man use of one guest room the first time had provided the chink in the armor. That led to Tony leaving clothes in the closet for work along with toiletries in the guest bath.

Like Abby, Tony still required a tight leash at times.

On Tony's second visit, for example, not only had he stayed out on a date 'til the wee hours of a workday, but he failed to show for a suspect's interrogation a few days later. Gibbs discovered the lapse occurred because Tony had been playing basketball.

That earned Tony the first timeout Jethro levied on him at the House of Gibbs.

The ultimate consequence, though, had to be with yet another resurgence of parental emotion which had activated and over-ridden Jethro's lone wolf resolve. Suddenly he found himself checking on Tony and relating to Tony and Abby in the same ways.

Within months the two of them claimed permanent residence with Jethro in the House of Gibbs.

Just like that-

Whether or not he wanted to admit anything to himself, they had brought him back to the land of the living, had reinstated a purpose and mission to direct his life.

Jethro regarded his empty coffee cup with a start. He had drained it.

He methodically poured a replacement cup and left it on the counter while he rummaged through the remainder of the Sweetheart candies. Finally satisfied, he pinpointed two and grabbed them, then jogged up the stairs. He left's Tony's on his bedside table and Abby's on hers before retracing his steps and claiming his coffee.

He was pleased.

Despite his inability to express himself verbally, he thought the _thank you_ engraved on Abby and Tony's candies managed to adequately and succinctly communicate his instant message.


End file.
